13 October 2025
Bilbao Campus
Deusto Business School promotes a management model that places human dignity at its centre and encourages alignment between corporate objectives and societal goals. In this context, Professor Thomas Donaldson, one of the world’s leading voices in business ethics and management strategy, will visit the University of Deusto on 13 and 14 October to discuss how to integrate economic profitability with social and environmental responsibility.
Professor of Ethics and Law at Wharton (University of Pennsylvania, USA), one of the world's most prestigious business schools, Thomas Donaldson is the author of numerous leading publications on business ethics and corporate governance. His current research focuses on aligning the values that shape organisational culture with companies’ strategic decisions, for which he has developed a pioneering framework to help organisations progress in this area.
During his visit to the University, he will meet with undergraduate, postgraduate, executive education and alumni of the Faculty. He will also take part in a working seminar with the Deusto Business School research team "Leadership and Service(s) for the generation of social value" and will visit the Mondragón Group, an international benchmark in cooperative management.
Purpose-driven careers
Thomas Donaldson’s thinking is particularly relevant in a context where younger generations seek purpose-driven careers and often struggle to find motivation in the world of business management. His model provides companies with a framework for defining the values they wish to promote and aligning them with decision-making, strategy and outcomes. In this way, it brings the values of younger generations closer to those of organisations and opens the door to a new source of workplace motivation: contributing to human dignity and social well-being through profitable, responsible and sustainable businesses.
Professor Donaldson’s visit comes at a pivotal moment, as companies and governments debate issues of sustainability, social responsibility and corporate trust. In this regard, his perspective will offer timely insights for advancing towards purpose-driven management, capable of rebuilding social trust and responding to the expectations of new generations.
The initiative is organised by the aforementioned research team, in collaboration with the Vizcaína Aguirre Foundation, and forms part of Deusto Business School’s commitment to hosting distinguished international speakers who contribute to a humanistic education grounded in human rights and aimed at promoting fairer and more sustainable leadership and economic practices.
